This paper presents a case study of a hands-on exercise to improve students' project management skills on repetitive infrastructure/modular projects. The exercise was to construct a large foam-board model of the University of Waterloo campus, involving over 40 buildings. The exercise design involved training on the integrated life-cycle decisions…

A quality management system is an essential and mandatory instrument for maritime higher education institutions mandated by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers. To design an effective quality management system, it is strongly recommended to take the most comprehensive model of the…

Institutions of higher education are faced with challenges when implementing an assessment initiative. These challenges include constraints on time and resources, the demands of specialized accreditation, and faculty motivation to comply. In addition, the communication of the expectations around assessment must be clear to all constituents in…

Reporting standards and critical appraisal tools serve as beacons for researchers, reviewers, and research consumers. Parallel to existing guidelines for researchers to report and evaluate group-comparison studies, single-case experimental (SCE) researchers are in need of guidelines for reporting and evaluating SCE studies. A systematic search was…

Within the scope of educational testing and assessment, setting standards and creating guidelines as a code of practice provide more prolific and sustainable outcomes. In this sense, internationally accepted and regionally accredited principles are suggested for standardization in language testing and assessment practices. Herein, ILTA guidelines…

Purpose: In 2004, the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC) began incorporating the use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the delivery of its programmes and courses, taking a "blended learning" approach. There is a recognition, however, of the need to ensure the quality of the…

European tertiary education became an important topic of the main leaders of the world academia a decade ago, when 29 European countries voluntarily signed the Bologna Declaration of 1999. This intergovernmental European initiative of educational reform, known as the Bologna Process, defines a common framework for higher education systems, and…

Purpose: This paper aims to compare the ways in which a range of quality frameworks have been validated and to identify a number of factors that have an impact on validation processes. Design/methodology/approach: Seven examples of published quality frameworks applicable to the field of e-learning are described and the methods used to validate…

The Commonwealth of Learning is proud to partner with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Higher Education and UNESCO to produce this "Quality Assurance Toolkit for Distance Higher Education Institutions and Programmes". The Toolkit has been prepared with three features. First, it is a generic document on quality assurance, complete with a…

E-learning in the European Higher Education Area has stampeded its way to the foreground of the Quality Assurance (QA) forum, and has become a key issue among quality assurance agencies and institutions in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Because internet-based learning is currently such a relevant topic, there is a dire need for the…

The Malcolm Baldrige Quality guideposts provide a comprehensive model for systematic quality improvement and innovation in colleges and universities.

Purpose: This article seeks to highlight the challenges and issues that face merging higher education institutions and also to outline some of the challenges in integrating the quality assurance systems during the pre-, interim and post-merger phases in a merged university. Design/methodology/approach: Case studies of merged and merging…

This account of internal audit is set within the context of higher education in the UK and a fictitiously named Riverbank University. The study evaluates the recent introduction of "Internal Academic Audit" to the University and compares the process with that of the internationally recognized ISO 19011 Guidelines for Auditing Quality…

This document examines adult and community learning (ACL) and quality programs across England. The difficulties faced by local education agencies' ACL services in delivering quality are noted, along with ways quality improvement has been supported. Quality programs--whether internal or external, based on awards, or used as diagnostic tools--are…

This guide explains how staff at further education (FE) colleges throughout England and Wales can engage in the Learning Gateway, which is a program featuring personal advisers, "front end" assessment and support, and life skills training to help disengaged 16- and 17-year-olds re-engage in education, training, and employment. Chapter 1…